Matt's Inside Line: Scoop on Castle, Community, Fringe, The Closer, Body of Proof, Sons and More

Is Castle gunning to make you grab for Kleenex? Does Community have an endgame? Will Astrid ever find herself twin-piqued? Read on for those answers, plus other teases from TV’s hottest shows.

Castle| No sooner did I hear that the screener for the next new episode was available did I lunge for the play button. As you may know, “Kill Shot” revolves around a sniper who is picking off “random” civilians — and as you can imagine, the case has a profound effect on Beckett, who found herself on the business end of a long-range rifle in the Season 3 finale. On Monday I’ll have a full-on Q&A with Stana Katic, but for now rest assured that she brings it, quick, often and heart-wrenchingly, as Kate’s memories are jostled anew. (Expect waterworks on both sides of your TV screen.) You’ll see a lot of her scar and her shrink (whom she hightails it to after one big breakdown). Jon Huertas also shines in the episode, as Esposito, a sniper himself, tried to help Beckett stand up to her demons. On the lighter side, Alexis’ smarts help dig up a clue about the killer, and you’ll hear of a “new man” in Kate’s life. His name is Roger and, she effuses, he has “the most incredible [spoiler]”!

The Closer| Another screener I cued up is this TNT hit’s “Season 7.33″ premiere (airing Nov. 28). In light of how the final season’s first run of episodes ended — with cocky Booger filing a federal lawsuit against Brenda & Co. — it’s no surprise that Raydor is riding everyone harder than ever. But is the captain satisfied with pulling “hall monitor” duty? Watch for an interesting twist (and then a twist on that twist) there. Turning to the new batch’s second, Christmas-themed episode, Pope has a scene that is made of epic win, and a visit from Buzz’s hottie sister (FlashForward‘s Christine Woods) has all of the MCD menfolk feeling most jolly.

Community| No one – not a single TVLine staffer included – wants to ponder a primetime slate devoid of this beloved NBC comedy. But if, in the worst-case scenario, the Greendale gang can’t eke out another renewal after returning from winter hiatus, rest assured that series boss Dan Harmon has a plan. “If we’re unsure enough [about our fate], you can count on me to wrap things up in a way that will satisfy those fans who have stuck with us for three years,” he told us months ago, before the current season started. “Even though it will be a horrible funeral, at least it will be a complete one… with a burial.” With that said, here are links to a “Save Community” Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Body of Proof| We pause here for a quick casting scoop: Hip-hop recording artist/sometime Justin Bieber collaborator Sean Kingston will guest-star on the ABC procedural around midseason, playing a cab driver named Marley.

Suburgatory| TVLine caught up with Jane Levy at a recent event, and she was more than happy to dish about upcoming episodes. For one, hottie-next-dooor “Ryan reconfesses his love to [Tessa], and she just doesn’t want to hear it,” the ingénue revealed. “It’s some juicy stuff.” But Levy’s most favorite episode to date arrives this Wednesday, when her new nabe marks Thanksgiving. “Everyone comes together and the dysfunction is at its highest point,” she previews. “It’s hilarious.”

Fringe| When we met up with Jasika Nicole on the Fox drama’s Vancouver set, we had to wonder aloud: Will our Astrid ever meet her At Universe doppelganger? Nicole smiled and confirmed nothing, but went on to share her own curiosity at such a face-off. “The two Olivias are very different, but these two women are fundamentally different, so I wonder what their common ground is?” she ventured. “I think this Astrid would be completely fascinated and want to hang out with the alternate Astrid. And I think the other alternate Astrid would just be completely oblivious.” Interesting fact: In her portrayal of AltAstrid, Nicole takes some cues from her real-life sister, who lives with Autism. “There are definitely some similarities that they have in terms of behavioral patterns,” she notes.

Covert Affairs| In my full Q&A with Chris Gorham, he hinted at changes coming down the pike for Auggie. But here’s one extra-titillating tidbit I left out. “As we get to the end of this season, Auggie is going to deal with something on a very personal level,” he shared. “He’s going to make a big choice that I think [viewers] might be nervous about once they get to it.” Gorham offered no other details – though one has to wonder if this twist somehow involves new girlfriend Parker, who’s due to join the Peace Corps at some point – but he did rave, “I’m very happy about how we handled it.”

Sons of Anarchy| Now that you’ve seen the latest episode, where Wendy’s visit led Tara to rebreak her already damaged hand, I can pass along Maggie Siff’s answer to the question: Could this be the start of a pattern of self-destructive behavior? Will the devastated doc lose it completely? “The thing that Kurt [Sutter] and I have talked about is how Tara can never become Gemma — the roots of who she is are really, really different,” she answered. “Tara has these two small children that she’s super-dedicated to, and what’s been very interesting in terms of these events going down is how much of a grip she’s been losing internally. So I think you will continue to see her struggle.”

If there’s a show or hot topic you’d like the Inside Line on, email mattmtvguy@gmail.com, and maybe it’ll get some love the next time around! (With reporting by Meg Masters and Vlada Gelman)

I agree, I automatically thought it was a pet. I don’t know if she would be able to have a dog in her apartment with her hours unless that one door in there leads to a private patio. I definitely think it could be a dog or a cat, or even a fish for that matter :)

Yes, Bones is an awesome show, and I love it, but you have to admit, they did throw every possible road block in front of Booth and Brennan, then proceeded to tie it all into a messy bow of pregnancy. And no, I am not hating on the pregnancy, I am ecsatic about it, all I’m saying is that it could have been done better, and I just hope Castle doesn’t wait that long.

I hate Tara, but Maggie Siff is bringing it with this storyline and I can’t wait to see how she continues to struggle internally. If Sons of Anarchy doesn’t get any Emmy love in 2012, then I don’t think they ever will. Greatest cast on TV right now. Everyone is shinning. Ryan, Ron, Maggie, Katey, Theo, Kim, Tommy. ALL THE AWARDS.

Sutter has said in the past that Wendy is the Ophelia of the show, but maybe he changed his mind? Even though I’m not a Tara fan, it will be so sad to see her die instead of Clay. I’m expecting the worst at this point.

Because “Castle” isn’t a show that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will pay attention to, same as the unfortunately under-appreciated “Fringe” with stellar performances from John Noble and Anna Torv (though for different reasons).

Certain shows get the right kind of buzz and “awards cred” to make the Academy recognize them, or have a particular star that is an awards magnet, and others don’t. It’s exactly why one kind of cop show, “The Closer” for example, can be repeatedly nominated (I’m a fan of the show, for the record) for Kyra Sedgwick’s performance.

Actually, a better example is Mariska Hargitay on “Law & Order: SVU.” I’ve been watching SVU for the better part of a decade, and Hargitay does solid work, but there’s no reason she should have been nominated last year over Torv, or better yet, Regina King for “Southland”, the best police show on the air today, in my opinion. The fact that neither Ms. King, nor Michael Cudlitz or Shawn Hatosy got nominated for an Emmy or Golden Globe this past year for “Southland” is a travesty. Unfortunately, the show has seemed thus far to be stained by the drama with Jay Leno and its move from NBC to TNT, so it’s as if no one is willing to touch the show with a ten foot pole. At least the TV Critics Awards did the right thing and gave Hatosy a nom.

Thanks for the Castle scoop, “Kill Shot” sounds fantastic.
Looking forward to the later “handcuff” ep as well; how did they get stuck together? Working on a mystery without any clues? Working on their night moves? :P

Hope NBC still has high hopes for COMMUNITY when it returns during a long or short vacation but don’t blame Bob Greenblatt and his network for making even harder decisions for its midseason schedule. Let’s hope he doesn’t screw things up again until May 2012 for the upcoming Fall schedule.

ok I’m wondering how many times Castle fans are going to flip out every time it even ‘appears’ that they may be bringing in a man/woman for Beckett/Castle…can we please recall the “Eye of the Beholder” Serena Kaye upheaval and then ALSO remember that Marlowe and Co. came through and it ended up being a completely awesome Caskett episode?!?

So come on people…let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and trust that after the emotional turmoil we are pretty much guaranteed Castle and Beckett will both experience next week they would not pull the rug out from under us by plopping in a plot contrivance (cough, Hannah, cough)…

I am so looking forward to it and watching all the past episodes of season four in the meantime :)

So excited for this Castle ep. I love seeing Michael Dorn and he hasn’t been used nearly enough yet. Also hoping that Roger is a pet. Ideally a cat, but unlike me I think Kate is definitely a dog person.

I don’t understand why so many people hate Tara. She plays such a great role. She’s caught between the work she loves vs. the man she loves and the club he loves. Maggie Siff plays this role with such power and force!

I have always liked Tara’s character, she is what makes this show realistic. SOA has been one of the best shows on TV since it started, but this season is out of this world. The characters all demand your attention. There is not one actor on the show that does not deserve an award!!!

Hearing that there’s a plan for if Community is axed doesn’t make me feel better! Community is such a great show and it has a tough time-slot. If a show had to go into hiatus to make room for the awful new shows then why not The Office which hasn’t been funny in a long time? Or better yet, cancel Whitney and put us out of our misery.

I can’t bear to think of Community ending. It’s a phenomenal show that is seriously underrated. All I ask is we at least see Jeff graduate, not some awkward wrap up. One more season after this one couldn’t hurt.

Isn’t it funny there are no comments about the Closer yet. They have totally RUINED this show with the law suit story line. I have seen every episode of the closer from the beginning and I could barley watch the last cycle. They have taken all the fun out of this show and it it really a sad way to end it. I know that they have to do something because Kira is leaving and the show is ending; but it is such a shame that I am not even looking forward to watching the next 5 episodes. I only hope they keep their word and wrap this crap heap up this month, and let me enjoy my Brenda Lee. GET A CLUE SHOW RUNNER THE RATINGS SUCK AND YOU ARE TO BLAME!!!!!!!!!

It’s funny because this show has been driving me crazy the way they constantly have Beckett wearing these scoopneck and V-neck shirts with not even a HINT of a scar, even though her entire chest was totally cracked open in the season premiere, lol. And by the end of that SAME season premiere episode, it was like all physical traces of this incident had completely disappeared. I know this sounds totally nitpicky, but missed details like this always drive me nuts. :-P Just makes it seem so unrealistic. Anyway it sounds like they’re going to sort of “catch up” on all the aftereffects/PTSD type stuff in this “Kill Shot” ep, so that should be interesting.